Longhorns' do-it-all wide receivers add dimension

By Mike Finger |
December 4, 2009

Texas receiver Marquise Goodwin returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown at A&M.

AUSTIN — After his junior year of high school, Marquise Goodwin raced in Puerto Rico and long-jumped in Poland. Tens of thousands of people watched as he competed under the pressure of representing his country.

His nerves never wavered.

As a freshman on one of the most hyped football teams in the country, Goodwin was thrown into the middle of the Texas-Oklahoma rivalry and on at least three occasions was asked to make a game-changing play.

He practically yawned as he made them all.

“That's just me,” Goodwin said. “I've always been that way.”

Goodwin, a 5-9, 170-pound flash from Garland, did not get nervous before he ran back a kickoff 95 yards for a pivotal touchdown in Texas' 49-39 Thanksgiving victory at Texas A&M. He said he does not tense up before tests, or dates, or even when he knows he's about to be smacked by an opposing defensive back.

But when UT coach Mack Brown stands up in front of the team on Sunday evenings and announces which players get their names on the team's Warrior Wall? That's when even the most unflappable young Longhorn turns to mush.

More than a track star

If the only thing that makes Goodwin antsy is being compared to his UT peers, that makes sense. As much of an all-around contributor as he has been for the Longhorns this season, emerging as one of Colt McCoy's key targets in addition to becoming a punt-blocking and kick-returning extraordinaire, he's barely keeping up with some of his counterparts in the wide receiving corps.

The most celebrated do-it-all guy is Jordan Shipley, the senior wideout who has broken UT's single-season record for receiving yards with 1,292. Shipley returns punts and kicks — he has run back four for touchdowns in his career — and also serves as the team's holder on field goals and extra points. But if Shipley is the man who made staying on the field for special teams cool, Goodwin and sophomore Malcolm Williams have turned it into a trend.

Goodwin, a junior world champion in the long jump and in the sprint relay, came to UT on a track scholarship. At first, it wasn't clear if Brown would have any use for him on the football field. Goodwin removed those questions in a hurry by blocking a punt for a go-ahead score against Colorado and then catching the go-ahead touchdown pass against OU before later making his big splash at A&M.

Excels on special teams

Williams, meanwhile, has been even busier.

Lately, Williams has become a legitimate big-play threat in the passing game with 15 catches for 235 yards in his last two games, but all season he has been a special-teams monster. His hit on UTEP punter Greg Hiett remains perhaps the most bone-crushing blast of UT's season, and he's a key member of every unit of the kicking game.